A study into the difference in relationship satisfaction between people who met their partners online versus people who met in person

Connolly, Megan
(2018)
A study into the difference in relationship satisfaction between people who met their partners online versus people who met in person.
Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Abstract

This study was carried out to establish whether the use of online dating could affect one’s relationship satisfaction or general happiness in a negative or positive way. It will also highlight the difference between those who met online vs in person. It will also establish a deeper understanding of how people perceive internet fidelity in relation to people who met online and in person.

An online survey was distributed through a National College of Ireland e-mail and then to online platforms, namely, Facebook and Reddit. The requirements in order to take part were that you had to be currently in a relationship, have either met online or in person and to be over the age of 18. A sample of 99 participants took part in this survey which included 77 females and 22 males, 46 met online and 53 met in person.

The data was non-parametric therefore a Mann Whitney U test was preformed to find the differences between the two groups. Results were not statistically significant, as the P-value was not less than .05, but showed for example that people online scored higher in relationship satisfaction and online infidelity but people who met in person scored higher in general happiness.